Busy S. Washington Avenue open again at U.S. 31 overpass

Thursday

Jun 26, 2014 at 6:30 PM

By Jim.Hayden@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4274

Traffic is again flowing under the U.S. 31 overpass on South Washington Avenue after the major southern access to Holland was closed last week.The repairs, though, are temporary, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.We are designing a project to replace the damaged beams, but construction may not start until next spring, depending on the lead time for steel, said Nick Schirripa, communication representative for MDOT.Southbound U.S. 31 will remain one lane indefinitely.South Washington Avenue opened Thursday afternoon.A truck from Padnos Inc., a Holland-based recycler and scrap-metal manager, had dropped a container at an area business, and the driver forgot to lower the hydraulic lift on the vehicle, piercing the U.S. 31 overpass with the lift on June 9.Police took about 8 hours to remove the wedged truck from the bridge.South Washington was restricted to one lane, then entirely closed on June 17 so crews could straighten beams, bolt plates and install vertical stiffeners in the damaged area, Schirripa said.The intersection and overpass handle about 20,400 vehicles a day, according to MDOT. Northbound traffic on U.S. 31 exits at that site as well.Southbound U.S. 31 will remain one lane because the repairs were intended to restore structural integrity to the girders under non-traffic conditions.It added stability back to the beams but not enough to support traffic. ... This is why the left lane of U.S. 31 still is closed over the bridge, Schirripa said.The bridge is safe, MDOT said. Follow Jim Hayden on Twitter@SentinelJim.